If I was injured in a car accident, knew I needed a lawyer and searched Google for one in your city, your law firm’s homepage is NOT the page I should see first.
Here’s why.
Your law firm’s website homepage most likely receives the highest amount of traffic on your site. That traffic is also going to be the least targeted traffic you get.
For example, your homepage is getting traffic from:
- Directories like Yelp, AVVO, FindLaw, etc.
- Links from your profiles on social media
- People searching for your law firm by your law firm’s name
- Your Google business and local listing (See image)
- Short tail keyword searches in your city for “lawyer {your city), (your state)”
- Short tail keywords such as this could be someone looking for any type of lawyer.
Have a look at the image to the right to see what the Google search results look like when I search for a lawyer in my hometown of Durham, NC.
I’m not saying you don’t want these visitors finding your website at all. What, I’m saying is if I know I need a car accident lawyer and I’m exploring my options, your homepage ideally isn’t the page that I should see first when I’m searching Google.
Many of your homepage’s visitors aren’t going to be considered a hot lead. They’re not searching for specifics. They don’t necessarily know what they want yet. They’re most likely in the “research” phase of their buying decision.
(Your homepage is perfect for people in the research phase). Your auto accident practice area page IS ideally where I should land if I’ve been in an accident and I’m searching Google for a car accident lawyer in your city.
When someone lands on the practice area page of your site that has been optimized for auto accidents, they’re essentially telling you they’ve been in an auto accident because they:
- Searched for something like “auto accident lawyer (your city), (your state)”
- Clicked on an ad for auto accident victims on Google or Social Media
- Started on your homepage, and navigated to the auto accident practice area page
Your practice area page is going to be ideal for converting traffic into an actual prospect, i.e. converting them from a website visitor to getting them to pick up a phone and call you or fill out a web form so you call them.
Visitors to your practice area pages are going to be your hot leads. They know what they want. They’re more likely to be ready to speak to someone at your firm, but they’re trying to figure out which firm to speak with.
Have a look at the next image.
Notice the results are more targeted for auto accident attorneys and sending traffic directly to law firm practice area pages versus home-pages.
Your homepage should not be ranked higher on this search than your practice area page.
So, What Is the Point of Your Homepage?
You can think of your homepage as the park map you get at the gate of an amusement park. It shows visitors where to go based on why they’re at the park. Do they want roller coasters? Do they want the kid-friendly section of the park? Restaurants?
Your homepage helps qualify traffic. Are they looking for help with an auto accident? Were they injured at work? Do they want to learn more about the process of hiring a lawyer?
And if they answer “yes”, your homepage allows them to dive deeper into your site. That’s a big reason your site should be easy to navigate from the homepage.
The Most Important Part of Your Homepage
The Headline: This is the single most important part of your homepage! Within 3 seconds, your headline should give your visitor a compelling reason to dive further into the site, if you can, in fact, help them. This is one of the reasons you’ll hear Ken preach the importance of having a compelling headline as the first thing your homepage visitors see.
When visitors land on your homepage, they need to understand:
1. They’re in the right place.
2. Why you’re different from other lawyers.
3. What they should do next.
To illustrate this, have a look at the snapshot of Ken’s previous SSD practice’s homepage:
Note how Ken’s homepage qualified its web visitors immediately.
1. The headline, “How to Double Your Chances of Winning Your Disability Case” showed anyone looking for information on filing for Social Security Disability that they’re in the right place.
2. It was “different” than the typical SSD law firm websites that simply said, “get a free case review,” “we have X number years’ experience,” or “you can trust us” because he instead offered a free e-book. This e-book also added to Ken’s credibility because he was the guy who “wrote the book on winning your Disability case”.
3. It immediately showed them what to do next, which was to get a free copy of the book.
If someone requests a copy of a book titled, “Your Guide to Winning Your Disability Case,” you could assume they are interested in getting help to file for Disability.
On the page, you were also able to navigate to the SSD practice area page and request a free case review, but that was all secondary to the compelling headline and offer that positioned Ken as the expert and showed them what they should do next if they needed help.
The homepage split traffic into those that want to file for Disability and those that don’t. When prospects requested the book, they were entered into an email follow-up campaign with more helpful info on how the Disability filing process works and why you should contact Ken’s firm with your questions.
What Should You Do Next?
Today, put yourself in the mindset of your ideal client and visit three of your competitor’s websites. Within three seconds, are you compelled to dive deeper into the site? Now, do the same for your homepage. Does your headline compel you to visit a practice area page?
Lastly, is your homepage ranked higher than your practice area page for long tail searches like “auto accident lawyer, (your city), (your state)”? If it is, be sure you address this with your SEO vendor and ask if there’s anything that can be done to better optimize your practice area pages.
